But You're Never Scared
by Chica
Summary: Bob and Dot have a talk one night. That's all you get! Please R/R!


  
  
Author's Note: This story takes place in the middle of Season 2, pre-Mouse, and pre-Web   
Creature. I set it in Season 2 because during that season, Bob and Dot seem closer, and   
therefore, this story fits better there. Praise and Flames may be sent to   
Maxaholic47@yahoo.com . I do not own Reboot, any of its characters, or anything else   
associated with it or Mainframe Ent. Hope ya like!  
  
  
But You're Never Scared  
  
It was long after dark at the P.O. after a particularly brutal attack by Megabyte. Bob,   
Dot, Enzo, Phong, and the police had managed to defeat him, but just barely. Everything was   
quiet now, and Bob and Dot were the only ones left in the control room. Though it was late   
and both of them were bone-tired, the attack had shaken them. Neither wanted to go to bed   
and be alone with their thoughts. They stayed as long as they could, doing final checks on the   
system. As they shut everything down for the night, Dot stayed looking out the last vidwindow   
at the city. It was so dark, and Megabyte's associates could be waiting around any corner…  
What Dot was thinking must have showed on her face, because Bob said, "Hey, Dot, you   
want me to walk you home or anything?"   
Dot looked over at him and smiled faintly and said, "Thanks, but I think I'll be okay."  
He nodded, and said, "Okay, if you're sure." She nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder for   
a second, a friendly gesture, but one that conveyed more than friendship. He gave her a   
mellow version of his happy-go-lucky grin, then said, "See you in the morning." He grabbed a   
zipboard and walked out of the P.O. "Goodnight," she called after him.  
As Dot zipped along Mainframe's dark and dormant streets, she found herself wishing she   
had taken up on Bob's offer. She couldn't shake off the thought that a hit man could be   
waiting for her. Dot told herself she was just being paranoid, but she decided to take a   
different route home anyway. Her new route took her through the park. As she walked along   
the path, her mind kept going over and over what had happened and how close they had   
come to not making it out alive. Dot wished she were home so she could just lay down and   
think; her whole body ached. The wind rustled the tree leaves, breaking her out of her   
thoughts. She looked over at the source of the sound, and as she did, she saw a bench sort-  
of hidden by a willow tree. Dot then realized how tired she actually was. She decided that as   
she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight anyway, this was as good a place as any to rest   
and think. The tree would hide her, and anyone sneaking up on her would have to walk   
across an open patch of grass, she'd see them. Dot walked over and sat down.  
  
* * *  
  
Bob had made it home okay; he hoped Dot had, too. He reminded himself that Dot was a big   
girl, she could take care of herself. He sighed and flopped down on his bed, not even   
bothering to change his clothes. As he lay there everything that had occurred in the last 24   
hours kept playing over in his mind like a bad horror movie. It did not take him long to realize   
that he was not going to get much sleep tonight. He sighed again. Nothing new. Being a   
guardian, Bob had seen more than his fair share of horrible things, and he had had many   
sleepless nights. He decided to take a walk in the park, as he had discovered it was one of   
the most peaceful places in Mainframe, especially at night. He got up and grabbed a blanket.   
Mainframe usually had good weather but it had been unusually cold the last few nights. He   
smiled when he realized what he had just thought. Dot was rubbing off on him more and   
more. He headed out.   
  
  
* * *  
  
Dot had fallen into a light sleep when a noise woke her. She quickly sat up and saw   
something coming toward her. Dot was getting ready to fight when she heard the something   
say, "Dot?" in Bob's voice. She laid her head back on the bench in relief. She picked her   
head up and watched him come over and sit down beside her. Bob said, "What are you doing   
here? Are you alright?"  
"Yes, I'm fine. I just had so much going around in my head and I'm so tired, walking home at   
this time of night was overloading my brain. And my body. I sat down to rest but I must have   
fallen asleep or something." Bob nodded, and Dot said, "What are you doing here?"  
He answered, "I couldn't sleep. Taking a walk clears my head and lets me think out loud or   
hit things if I need to." He grinned. Dot smiled back at him, but it faded as the cold wind blew   
and she shivered. Bob put an arm around her, enveloping her in the blanket. She smiled her   
thanks and leaned her head on his shoulder. Neither of them said anything for a bit, then Dot   
burst out, "I can't stop thinking about what happened today. What might have happened.   
How close we were to…" She broke off, close to tears. "I was so, so scared," she whispered.  
Bob tightened his arm around her and said, "It's alright. I was scared, too, but it's all over   
now and we're still here. Everything's gonna be okay." Dot then looked up at him in   
amazement.  
"You were afraid?" she asked. Bob gave her a confused look. "Yeah, what's the matter?"  
Dot answered, "Nothing. It's just that you're never scared." Bob again looked confused and   
questioned, "What makes you think that?"  
At this point Dot sat up and turned to face Bob. She responded, "You're always so confident   
in games and with Megabyte you're always talking and acting like he's nothing and-"   
"You're pretty tough with Megabyte yourself, you know," Bob interrupted.  
"I know, but with your self-confident personality and all, I guess I just thought that with you it   
wasn't 'false bravado' and you really felt that way."  
"Its good to know my act is working. Wow, I must be good to fool even my best friend."  
"It works really well."  
"Thank you. But it has to. I have to fool the people of Mainframe into believing I'm never   
afraid, that I'll never falter in protecting them. 'Cause that's my job- to protect them. If I seem   
afraid, they won't trust me, they won't listen to me. They'll be easy for Megabyte to infect,   
because they'll be vulnerable and fearful and more likely to believe that he's the one who   
should be in control, the one who will make them feel safe." Dot nodded, understanding. She   
had been doing the same thing when raising Enzo and running the city, but she had never   
realized it.   
They were quiet again for a moment, then Dot spoke. "You know, today I was afraid of getting   
deleted." She paused. "But I was afraid of losing you more. I'd miss you. Too much." Bob   
looked down at her for a minute, nodded and said, "That is exactly what I was afraid of. I   
couldn't live if you were gone. I'd 've lost…someone very important to me…and failed in my   
programming-to protect you." Then he added, "Not that I need programming for that." At this   
statement she blushed but smiled and leaned her head back on his shoulder again. They   
were once more silent, just sitting looking at the sky. Both of them were feeling calmer; now   
their bodies' signals started to get through to their brain, telling the two that they needed   
sleep, now. Neither Bob nor Dot wanted to leave the position they were in, but they knew if   
they stayed, things would get awkward in the morning, so the sprites stood up, exchanged a   
small hug, and went their separate ways toward their homes. As Bob walked along the   
darkened street he looked up at the sky and whispered, "I'll always protect you, Dot."  
  
  
FIN  
  
AN: After writing this, I realized that the characters were not quite "true to character". This   
was one of the first fanfics I wrote, way back when I hadn't thought about characterization.   
Now I do, and I had the realization you just read. I almost deleted the whole thing. But I didn't   
want to. I liked the story. So I decided that I would post this story with this line of defense:   
**Chica whips hand into pocket, pulls out a small card and holds it in front of your face.   
Upon it you read: Poetic License **  



End file.
